Appeals court: ex-bus driver must pay union dues

The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the Michigan Employment Relations Commission’s decision to reject a former local bus driver’s claim her right to not support a union was violated.(Photo: BrianAJackson, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the Michigan Employment Relations Commission’s decision to reject a former Livingston County bus driver’s claim that her right not to support a union was violated.

Pauline Beutler, a former driver for the Livingston Educational Service Agency, alleged Teamsters Local 214 violated her right to avoid supporting a union, but the appeals court found that MERC correctly recognized that Beutler had a contractual obligation to pay dues even if she wasn’t a member of the union.

According to court documents, Beutler, formerly of Howell, made a written request in September 2013 to refrain from union activities following the implementation of amendments to the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA), which rendered Michigan a so-called right-to-work state.

The union responded with a letter indicating Beutler’s contract – which went into effect July 1, 2013, and took into consideration PERA legislation – superseded changes to PERA and did not allow her to revoke her “financial obligation” at that time.

The MERC held that Beutler’s dues obligation was not necessarily tied to her membership in the union because she had entered into a “dues deduction agreement that obligated her to pay dues to the union without regard to her union membership,” according to court documents.

That agreement, dated September 2011, allowed an employee to revoke dues deduction with at least a 60-day, but no more than 75-day, notice before the contract renewal, which occurred in May 2013.

“There is no indication that (Beutler) attempted in any way to terminate her obligation to pay dues prior to or at the time surrounding the implementation of the new collective bargaining agreement,” the appeals court found.

“Because the dues deduction agreement renewed when the new collective bargaining agreement took effect, it was essentially a new and distinct contract and (Beutler), by failing to take any action within the time frame set forth in the dues deduction agreement, waived her right to discontinue paying her dues at any point other than the time frame set forth in that renewed dues deduction agreement,” the court noted.